Combat aircraft are among the most important single weapons systems in any country’s arsenal. They are not only the most lethal, but also the most flexible – and most visible – form of military power. More often than not, combat aircraft can be highly effective alone due to their... Read more

Read part one. As of 2014, Yemeni air defenses were grouped into nine air-defense brigades, each operating a mix of surface-to-air missile sites equipped with S-75/SA-2, S-125/SA-3, 2K12/SA-6 and 9K31/SA-9 missile systems. By the time Houthi insurgents descended from the mountains of northern Yemen and brought Sana’a under their... Read more

On the evening of Jan. 7, 2018, the coalition of the Houthi insurgency and Yemeni military units that sided with the Houthis claimed to have shot down a Saudi Tornado fighter-bomber. A day later, Houthi and allied forces claimed to have shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter. In support... Read more

Read part one. According to official releases from Boeing and the U.S. Air Force, the F-15 Eagle has a clear-cut win-to-loss ratio of 104 to zero. But in fact, opposing air forces have claimed, in nearly a dozen cases, to have shot down the iconic, twin-engine fighter. All the... Read more

According to official releases from Boeing and the U.S. Air Force, the F-15 Eagle has a clear-cut win-to-loss ratio of 104 to zero. But in fact, opposing air forces have claimed, in nearly a dozen cases, to have shot down the iconic, twin-engine fighter. All the claims have one... Read more

On July 18, 1980, Libyan air force MiG-23MS serial number 6950 crashed on Mount Sila in Calabria in southern Italy. The pilot, Capt. Ezzeden Khalil, died on impact. Ever since, there’ve been wild rumors and conspiracy theories regarding the incident. The most fantastic of these connect Khalil’s death with... Read more

Westerns analysts have concluded that Russia’s fifth-generation Sukhoi Su-57 stealth fighter is unlikely to enter operational service before 2027. Postponements, cost-overruns and research and development-related problems mar the project. This should come as no surprise. The Su-57 program was never really viable. Back in early 2006, Russian president Vladimir... Read more

On June 5, 1967 during the war between Israel and its Arab neighbors, Egyptian air force bomber pilot Hosni Mubarak — the future president of Egypt — called Cairo to report that his formation of Tu-16 bombers had landed at Aswan airfield. Forty-five minutes later, an Israeli air strike... Read more

The war in Syria isn’t over. On Nov. 2, 2017, Syrian and allied troops advanced into Islamic State-controlled parts of Syria. Marching from the city of Dayr Az Zawr down the Euphrates River toward the Iraqi border, they linked-up with Iranian-supported militias and converged on the town of Al... Read more

U.S. Air Force captain Steve Tate — call sign “Tater” — scored one of the first aerial victories of Operation Desert Storm, downing an Iraqi air force Mirage F.1 during the night of Jan. 16 and 17, 1991. Few people have heard that story from the Iraqi pilot’s perspective.... Read more